Common Sense Media Review
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Goofy humor, warm heart in wild holiday romp.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
After a run-in with an inflatable Santa leads to a broken arm, embittered, black-clad Bobbie Mendoza decides Christmas is bullying her -- so she's going to ignore it. But she still wants her younger brother, Tad, to have a magical holiday, even though they miss their father, who's off working in North Dakota. Her attempt to get her brother a coveted gift goes awry, landing him on the Naughty List. To save Christmas for him -- and everyone -- Bobbie goes on a wild journey to the North Pole, evading robo-narwhals, a candy cane reef, a figgy pudding swamp, and more. Her only hope is to disable Santa's mechanical Watcher, which has put so many children on the Naughty List the world is running out of Christmas cheer.
Is It Any Good?
Kids will be drawn in by the fart jokes and hyperactive plot twists, but this book's kindly message -- celebrating family and joy -- leaves a strong impression. Naughty or nice isn't always an easy call to make; there's a difference between observing and really seeing, as co-authors Michael Fry and Bradley Jackson make clear. Boiled down, their comic novel sticks to a familiar holiday setup: Holiday cheer is in steep decline, and the fate of Christmas depends on one child. But Jackson and Fry shred sentimental convention, making the North Pole stinky from magic (which smells like refried beans) and populating it with outlandish creatures: commando seals, vengeful snow angels, missile-toes, and a snowman armed with a hair dryer.
Jackson's line drawings, evocative of Berkeley Breathed's style, pepper the pages, making up for the sometimes whipsawing plot. Fusing it all together is Bobbie's love for her family: missing her absent dad, leaning on her supportive mother, cherishing her brother's enthusiasm for Christmas, and discovering another side to her eccentric uncle.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about watching vs. seeing. Have you ever been wrongly judged because someone didn't see the whole picture?
Why do you think kids saving Christmas is such a popular theme? What other books or movies have you read or seen that have this theme?
What does Bobbie mean when she says, "Naughty is sometimes nice, and nice is sometimes naughty"? How do you tell the difference?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Michael Fry
- Genre : Holiday
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Holidays
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : September 22, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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